You've Received a New Call From Tali'Zorah vas Neema
by SpaceRanger
Summary: (Also known as 'What Tali did right after Freedom's Progress.') "Come on you bosh'tets! Answer your ** omni-tool! "
1. Garrus

**DISCLAIMER****: **_All of the characters in this fic are not mine. They are the property of BIOWARE. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed! :-)_

**Author's Note: **_Female Shepard will be talked about in this fic. Also, I will be attempting to avoid mentioning who this Shepard is in a romance with. We all know that both Kaidan and Liara had a crush on Shepard so I'd probably add a few lines on that, but any implications of who Shepard *is* with will not be mentioned. If this offends you press the back button now!_

_An anon at the kink meme prompted this:_

After Cerberus brings either!Shep back in ME2, Tali is the first person Shep meets who isn't Cerberus. Shep then heads back off with Cerberus and Tali isn't seen again until recruitment. However, while she is on her way back to the Flotilla, I'd imagine Tali would call/message _everyone_ letting them know Shep is alive, asking if they knew, telling them everything that happened. So lets see some of those conversations... Liara trying to hide what she knows, Garrus, Virmire Survivor, Joker ect being unreachable for some strange reason, Wrex being Wrex, whatever.

_masseffectkink . livejournal. com6870 . html ?thread = 31061462#t31061462 (Don't forget to remove spaces and add the slash between com and 6870.)_

i

**Garrus**

By SpaceRanger

i

In the darkened apartment, a lonely and dusty terminal beeped. The terminal's owner is no where to be found and haven't been for a very long time.

_"Garrus Vakarian here, don't quite know how you got a hold of my personal address, but I'm not using this any more. Not for a while anyway. You're welcomed to leave a message, but know that I might not respond for a very long time. *beep* "_

"Vakarian, you _bosh'tet_ you _gave_ me this address and then decide to _drop off the grid_?! What the hell? Stop ignoring your calls and pick up dammit!

You won't believe this! _Keelah!_ I can't believe it myself!

_**Shepard. Is. Alive!**_

We met on Freedom's Progress - when the Admiralty board lost contact with the site, my team was sent to investigate 'cause one of our own was on pilgrimage there. Normally we don't keep track of those on pilgrimages but Veetor - the one on pilgrimage - he's always been unstable so we went to make sure that the incident wasn't caused by well… him. Luckily, it wasn't but that's jumping ahead in the story.

As we landed, we saw Veetor running away from us to hide in a large warehouse.

We got out of the shuttle just as the warehouse door closed but before we could do anything else, mechs started activating and attacking us! Luckily, we didn't lose anyone taking them down but we figured out that the longer we stayed outside the more mechs would appear. The waves of mechs stopped as soon as we took shelter and we used that time to try to make plans to get him out of there.

We started dreading the assignment when we realized that, aside from what the mechs caused shooting at us, there was no signs of damage to the buildings. There wasn't any bodies anywhere either! This would've looked very bad. If not for what happened later, I wouldn't be surprised if we'd get blamed for the Freedom's Progress disappearance too. _Keelah_, as if we didn't get enough bullshit from the _bosh'tet_ council races after the mess with Saren and the geth. No offense Garrus, I know you're doing your best, but we're getting hit hard with anger from the other races, as if we didn't pay enough from losing our homeworld.

Anyways, we agreed that I would take point on this mission just in case raiders or any humans landed to check out the scene before we could get him out. I don't know if you've heard of it but Freedom's Progress is in the Terminus Systems, so no one but Alliance and some mercenaries would go out there to investigate and well… I was the only one who had experience with humans.

Seconds after the agreement was made, the door open revealing three humans: Shepard and two others. We didn't know that it was Shepard at the time so Prazza and the others quickly took arms as soon as the doors opened. Understandable as they could've easily been mercenaries or worse, the Alliance, but I had to quickly try to stop them. Prazza and the others had always been a bit… hotheaded and impulsive. Things were already looking bad with Veetor being the only person left on the planet, and if I let them have their way they would've started an incident.

Luckily, it wasn't the Alliance or mercenaries. Unluckily, it was worse in a way. It was Cerberus. If you've listened to the message I left you last, you would remember that there's been some additional bad blood between Cerberus and the Flotilla. I couldn't - and still can't - believe that Shepard was with them.

One of them - Miranda I think - was dressed in some sort of skin-tight catsuit and the other - Jacob? - was wearing a compression clothes pretending to be a uniform. I wouldn't be surprised if they're the first ones to drop dead in the middle of a battle. Shepard was the only sensibly dressed one of the three and she knew it. She went out of her way to make herself a bigger target by stepping into the light and glowering.

I wish I could've taken a picture of that, I wonder if that's what Saren and everyone else saw when they face Shepard on the battlefield. It made me glad I was in an enviro-suit for once, otherwise I would've needed to change pants. She was dangerous! And her scars! The old scar on her face is gone, but there's now incision scars in its place and it glowed an evil looking red. I can't believe what they've done to her, but whatever it is it looked painful.

It's sad but I didn't recognize her, not a first. But when I finally got a real good look at her… maybe it's from joining her on the fight, but _Keelah_… I could feel her! I could tell that this was Shepard, _our_ Shepard! And just like that the universe started feeling hopeful again. I didn't realize it until then but I was drowning in despair. The universe just didn't seem worth it anymore, it was just the same useless _bosh'tets_ day in and day out, not even willing to take the Reaper threat seriously.

It's their fault we got into the mess on Freedom's Progress. It's their fault that Shepard died and then had to be torn from her rest at the side of the ancestors - though I guess we should thank them for the latter. I missed her. I know we all did. Garrus, she told us that they brought her back because there were other colonies like Freedom's Progress disappearing.

Did you know about this?! Of course you didn't, last time you talk to me was to complain about tainted Red Sand you seized. Unless you were trying to "protect me" in that case, screw you, _bosh'tet_! I don't like being kept in the dark.

Shepard sensed the bad blood between us but suggested we work together anyways. Since we knew more about the layout of the colony then Shepard's team did, I suggested a direct route for them while my own team and I circle around the back. Shepard only nodded but she gave me this… look. It's hard to describe but I think she knew that taking that route afforded my team the chance to sneak off with Veetor before her team gets there. I think in a way, she hoped for it. But then Prazza and the others decided to be idiots and charged in only to be met by a Heavy Mech. Most of the team ended up getting killed but Shepard managed to save a lot more then I would've. Like always, she dove right in and made herself a target. I could hear and see it take down her shields but some how she made it, jumping on the thing and tearing its head off.

And then we found Veetor. _Keelah_… the information that he had… it was proof that human colonies _**were**_ disappearing. The colonies are being taken by the _**Collectors**_, Garrus! The problem is that they're _human colonies_ and worse, they're human colonies in the _Terminus Systems_. We both know what that means: she's going to try to find a way to stop them. The _bosh'tet_ Council isn't going to do anything to help. I think that and her stupid moral code just made Shepard a prisoner of Cerberus and it's all Prazza's fault.

No… it's my fault because I was in charge of that mission, I should've known better. Instead of threatening to make Prazza sit in the shuttle, I should've _forced_ him to sit in the shuttle or I don't know, just something to get them away from causing that mess. It caused Shepard's Cerberus jailers to doubt us so they wanted to steal Veetor away, but then Shepard stepped in. Catsuit human wasn't happy about it, and I don't know what giving up Veetor cost them, but Shepard made them let him go. _Keelah_… if something happened to Shepard because of me… I would never forgive myself. But I can't regret it either. Veetor is an innocent who needs treatment not an integration! Or… maybe Chief Williams was right… maybe I'm not all that different. I sacrificed a friend because she wasn't a quarian but Veetor was. I want to think I would let them take him if she asked but I don't know…

Before we left though, Shepard made me promise to pass along the copy of what was on Veetor's omni-tool to everyone. So, here it is. Watch it Garrus… it's… terrifying. The humans couldn't even put up a fight. I wanted to help her but she didn't ask. I know she wanted to but I think she knew I would say no. And I would. But-But only because the Flotilla had already asked me to investigate something out in geth space. The only reason we were tasked to make the trip to Freedom's Progress was because it was on the way to our next destination.

But if she asks me after that mission is over, I'd probably agree.

Garrus, I'm worried about her. She's on her own with only Cerberus as her main squad. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets shot in the back after the mission is over even if Cerberus did pour trillions of credits to bring her back. So, in the meantime, if there's something - anything you can do to help her out… would you?

Please?

I'm going to make a few more calls before we land, this time on Haestorm, so I won't be able to respond for a while. This means there better be a damn message from you waiting for me as soon as I get back within range of a comm buoy, Vakarian!"

*_Tschhh -_ *

End of Message

* * *

A/N: _I figured that regardless of who was Shepard's Love Interest, the first person Tali would always call is Garrus. They had this bickering thing going on through out the first game but I think they managed to resolve it into friendly bickering which I think made them closer then most. It kinda gives Tali more room to ramble especially about her doubts, fears, and other grievances. Figuring out who and in what order Tali would call next was the hard part._

_Here's a sneak preview of what's next:_

_Chapter 2 - Wrex and then Liara _

_Chapter 3A - Ashley_

_Chapter 3B - Kaidan_

_Chapter 4 - Engineer Adams_

A/N2:_ Yes, I am aware of what happens in ME3 - the third game. However, the above "A/N" and this fic is discussing ME2 - the second game - and will not venture beyond that (probably). Since the final pairings (and flirting between pairings other then Shepard and his/her LI) will not happen until the third game, I think the above "A/N" still stands even if the final pairing is Shepard/Tali or Shepard/Garrus as Shepard wouldn't be able to make a move on any LI until after their loyalty missions. For the LIs from the first game, I consider the Udina thing in the third game the Virmire Surviver's loyalty mission and __"Lair of the Shadow Broker" Liara's loyalty mission_.


	2. Wrex and Liara

** DISCLAIMER****: **_All of the characters in this fic are not mine. They are the property of BIOWARE. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed! :-)_

** Author's Note: **_Female Shepard will be talked about in this fic. Also, I will be attempting to avoid mentioning who this Shepard is in a romance with. We all know that both Kaidan and Liara had a crush on Shepard so I'd probably add a few lines on that, but any implications of who Shepard *is* with will not be mentioned. If this offends you press the back button now!_

i

** Wrex and Liara **

i

In the communications room of her temporary ship and still feeling the buzz of excitement despite her earlier rambling to Garrus, Tali quickly selected the second person on her (admittedly short) contact list. Any who looked over her shoulder at the point in time would find themselves surprised to see that Shepard was not the first or the second on her speed dial list. She was instead on the third slot, a spot Tali had left her at since the first time they met at the back alley near Chora's Den. The top two spots were held by Garrus and Wrex.

Half of the reasoning came from the fact that - right after she was made Spectre - Shepard had sent her along to C-Sec with Garrus and Wrex. Wrex was meant to be her bodyguard, while she helped Garrus close the case on the Saren investigation. As even though it would've been easy to just throw the case in with the rest of the Spectre involvement cases, the human had wanted to at least attempt to ease away some tension between her and C-Sec. None of them expect it to work but they tried and they spent several days at it. This lead to a lot of meetings with just the three of them. Shepard didn't take part in those meetings in an effort to distance herself from the case.

She hated to admit, but the other half of the reasoning came from a little bit of racism on her part - humans carries a lot of germs after all and when she joined, she didn't know she would end up with a shipful of human crew members. Most Spectres she's read about worked alone or with a very small squad. She had assumed that Shepard's squad had consisted of just Wrex and Garrus. With only three people, Tali didn't think she would willingly go out of her way to interact with the newest Spectre especially not after Shepard's initial attitude with her. She was proven wrong and she was glad of it… she just couldn't be bothered to change it despite that. Although she did once debated on changing it so she could drop Garrus to being last on her list due to his incessant nagging/talking in the elevators.

After two rings, Tali could hear the connection being made and with a happy grin, chirped, "Hey Wre-"

["_Your call cannot be completed as entered. User - Urdnot Wrex - is not available and does not have a terminal connection._"]

Behind her mask, Tali wrinkled her brow then cuffed the top of her helmet lightly with the heel of her palm. She'd forgotten that Wrex's preferred mode of communication outside of face to face was by extranet mail. Pulling up a New Message template she quickly typed out:

[**Subject**: _Shepard is Alive!_]

[**Body**: _Did you know about this?! Why didn't you tell me?!_

_Saw and talked to her on Freedom's Progress! Looks different now! Old scars gone, have new ones now that glows an evil looking red and doesn't seem to heal right. Kept bleeding and healing despite medi-gel. Poison?_

_Shepard's new mission: Hunting Collectors. Collectors probably working for Reapers. They're stealing people starting at Terminus Systems colonies. Watch attached vid! Shows Collectors have unknown technology that can stasis people longer then biotic stasis._]

Knowing she'd take too long to fix it up to something more civil and less salarian-like and too wired and impatient to bother with such things just yet, she quickly attached the Collector vid and hit send. She'll have to remember to try to set up a terminal for him if they ever meet again.

Turning back to her contact list, Tali hesitated on the next two names that followed Shepard's - Ashley and Kaidan. Maybe it's a bit of sentimentality on her end, but despite what happened on Virmire she couldn't bring herself to delete _that name_ off her list. It was the same with Shepard after what happened to the Normandy. The people on her list were the first non-quarians who treated her as an equal and as a friend. Sometimes they treated her even better than her own people.

Before she could select her next contact, the dampeners shut off for a second and it caused a bit of shaking on the ship that shook her as well. Her omni-tool activated, revealing the call from Kal'Reeger.

"Sorry, ma'am! Everything's under control now." Kal called as he literally kicked two of his soldiers back into their seat one by one. From the looks of it, those two soldiers had gotten into the beginnings of a brawl. Tali could only nod.

"Understood. Thanks, Kal."

"Ma'am." With that, they disconnected.

_This isn't a turian ship you bosh'tets!_ She grumbled mentally as she went back to her list - only to be surprised that the shaking had already attempted to make a connection to the second to last person on her list.

"You have reached Doctor Liara T'Soni's Information Office on Illium."

The face is familiar if a bit a darkened - though that may have just been the lighting - and the voice is its familiar soft tone, but unfamiliar as well. Either deliberate or a failed disguise is the coldness - Tali couldn't find any better word to describe it to herself - she could hear interlaced with it. The change was like a electric shock for the quarian, a reminder that it _has_ been _two_ years and that she'd made no effort to contact any of her friends after Shepard's death. Surprisingly enough, it was Garrus who started all the calls between them.

_Some friend I am._

A long suppressed memory arose. During one of their own private parties in the armory, a drunk Shepard had once talked about what they would do after everything was over. She'd joked on how, as the most social person in the group, it would be up to Tali to keep the group together. Shepard had even "knighted" her with her beer bottle for the role. Granted it wasn't official without the human's sword - or so they say - but it _was_ something she'd agree to.

Tali knew though - or rather reasoned with herself - that even if she did remember it during the time, it would've been too difficult for her. All of them had avoided each other at the funeral, each of them letting the loss fester. She'd avoid them because it seemed to hurt more when she looked at them… and because of guilt, wondering if it should've been her or one of them instead of Shepard. The same is likely true of the others.

"Hello? This is Doctor Liara T'Soni's Information Office."

Tali quickly shook her head out of her depressive thoughts as she'd realize that Liara had to repeat herself and that the quarian hadn't responded yet.

"Liara? This… This is Tali. Tali'Zorah vas Neema."

"Hello, Tali. It's been a long time." Liara's voice is unchanged - if you disregard the clinical, professional, and the make-the-quarian-feel-nervous tone that had Tali wondering if she should've done this.

"Yes, it has." The conversation stopped there - two old friends with bonds forged through battle seemingly unable to bridge that two year silence.

"Is th - "

Whatever Liara intended to ask is interrupted as Tali found herself blurting out, "_**ShepardIsAlive**_!"

The words, now out in the open, made her feel like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Liara's quick intake of breath broke the asari's cold visage.

"What…?" The wall between them hadn't vanished but it was a start. "Shepard is… are you sure?"

Tali nodded, beaming a bit at being the deliverer of good news. "Yes! I saw her on Freedom's Progress. She's alive, Liara! And it _is_ her as herself. Not a clone or a look a like or a pretender. At least I don't think. It's a good thing she didn't lose her memories or I might not have recognized her at all!

She lost that scar on her face and there's some sort of red incision scars in its place. Whatever it is, it looked really painful 'cause it kept bleeding and healing."

Remembering it made the quarian grimaced in sympathetic pain.

"It looks like she's with Cerberus now." Tali hastened to add, "- Probably not willingly! She _seemed_ annoyed when Prazza - one of my men - asked why she was working with Cerberus. And you know that the colonies out in the Terminus Systems are disappearing right? Well, Shepard and her team was investigating them. You will never guess who was behind this: Collectors! One of my people on pilgrimage managed to get a good evidence."

The quarian quickly attached the document and hit send. "And I just forward it to you. It's… pretty terrifying. The humans couldn't even put up a fight. I think that's probably what Shepard's going to do now: Fight the Collectors."

"I see." The blasé response startled her and Tali frowned. This was the woman with the biggest crush on their Commander. Instead of looking as joyous as she, Liara's "mask" had returned though Tali thought she saw a flash of fear as well but she may have just imagined it. What would cause Liara to be scared of Shepard?

"'_I see?_'" She repeated, "That's it?"

"What should I say, Tali? I may not have been in the information brokering business for long, but I've seen too many times where one of my trustworthy sources was double crossed or fed false information.

So until her physical form appears, I dare not believe. Now, I must get back to work. Thank you for the information and taking the time to do so personally."

Tali could only stare at the darkened screen for quite a while after Liara disconnected. Her mind still reeling from the almost clinically detached way the asari had spoken - so very different from when they were on the Normandy. Despite her attempts to hide it, Tali had seen Liara's hands shaking and heard the slight break in her voice - both indicators of sorrow.

Sorrow not Joy.

Out of everyone, she thought Liara would be _the_ person to jump for joy.

_Ancestors… what has these years done to you, Liara?_

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she scrolled up slightly on her contacts list to pick the next name.

* * *

A/N: _So I wanted to do a chapter with Wrex, but then I realized that when Shepard first meet him on Tuchanka, he was *very* surprised to see him/her. __Had Tali really been the one going around telling everyone Shepard was alive then it didn't make sense that he wasn't told. __I have a headcanon of the two of them having a sibling bond and that Ashley and Wrex were the ones that introduced Tali to her love of her shotgun. Of course the third game turned it into uncle + niece instead but that's okay._

_I thought of doing another long-rambling!Tali Chapter but I think you guys are probably tired of that. Plus, my whole intent of Chapter One was in hopes that her message to Garrus was enough to get all of that rambly-ness out of her system. I've always pictured Tali as the long-rambly-talk-about-the-whole-mission type when she's excited but she gets better after the excitement dies down or after she's done the long-rambling thing once._

_Also, with Liara, I conveniently sent Nyxeris out to lunch and dropped a bunch of work on Liara so that she's too distracted and busy to notice that the call is coming from her exclusive contacts list. I have a headcanon that Shepard's friends keep each other on such a list._

_Sneak Preview of what's next:_

_Chapter 3A - Ashley_

_Chapter 3B - Kaidan_

_Chapter 4 - Engineer Adams_


	3. Ashley

**DISCLAIMER****: **_All of the characters in this fic are not mine. They are the property of BIOWARE. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed! :-)_

** Author's Note: **_Female Shepard will be talked about in this fic. Also, I will be attempting to avoid mentioning who this Shepard is in a romance with. We all know that both Kaidan and Liara had a crush on Shepard so I'd probably add a few lines on that, but any implications of who Shepard *is* with will not be mentioned. If this offends you press the back button now!_

_Also, Kaidan's chapter will take a lot of additional tinkering even though I'll probably follow the same style as Bioware and just reuse the most of the lines. So you're welcomed to read both but if you prefer Ashely, read this Chapter. If you prefer Kaidan, you'll have to wait for Chapter 3B to be completed._

_My own __headcanon_ for this duplication is that I like to think that whoever survived Virmire tends to try to take on a bit of the the non-VS's actions. For example, Ashley would always think "What would Kaidan do in this case?" and try to strive for that.

i

**Ashley**

By SpaceRanger

i

"Williams."

"Hey- Wow you look horrible, Ash." And really she did. Almost as bad as Shepard looked after the Battle of the Citadel. They had all thought she had gotten away with only a broken arm when the piece of Sovereign fell on her, but their Commander had hidden her injuries too well. As soon as they all got back to the Normandy she collapsed, scaring them all again.

Ashley just laughed, her eyes twinkling with mirth and pain from her injuries. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Tali."

"Sorry! But you do! Did you just come back from a mission?"

"Yeah, yesterday I think, or the day before. Hard to tell when you're confined to the hospital and going mad with boredom. They won't let me do anything around here!" The human leaned forward in a conspiratory manner. "Pst! If you can managed to get me away from here I've got some turian chocolates with your name on it! I mean, I don't have any on me right now, but I promise you that I'll definitely get you some."

Behind her helmet, Tali's jaw dropped, already salivating a bit at the thought. The pragmatic soldier had always made good her promises to her. "Turian chocolate?! But but - That's not fair! You can't tempt me like that! I'm at least two Earth weeks away from Jump Zero!"

"Well it doesn't have to be you, don't you know someone closer that can bail me out?"

Tali shook her head and whined, "Nooooooooo…."

"Ah well, I tried. Bah. Humbug. So what's up?"

"Oh, yes!" Tali clapped her hands together. "Congratulations on your promotion to Operations Chief!"

Ashley smiled. "Thanks. It feels good, now that I've actually earned it."

Tali blinked disbelief. "What are you talking about? You worked with Shepard to bring Saren down! That's worth more then just a single promotion! You're being pessimistic again!"

The human shook her head. "No, I just - it's nothing, nevermind." Then she furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Wait a minute, Tali. Not many people know that I got promoted. Did you cause this?"

Tali held up her hands attempting to fend herself from the accusation. "I didn't hack into the Alliance database if that's what you mean. I offered, and I've got a script ready to go, but Shepard made me swear to not use it without hearing from her. The _bosh'tet_ wanted to force it through the _legal_ way _instead_ of the _smart_ way."

Ashley kept her suspicious gaze on her a moment longer before finally letting it go and shaking her head again with a smile. "I think I like Shepard's way better thanks."

"That's stupid! Saving the Citadel should've automatically net you the next rank so that you'd already be a Lieutenant! And Shepard should've at least been awarded as a Captain!"

Ashley laughed. "That's… not how it works, Tali. But thanks. For the thought and everything. Being given the ranks like that sounds great in theory, but I have to agree with the Committee for once. I needed the work. I needed the experience. Training is great and all but it doesn't prepare you for everything. I've learned a lot and I think I've become a better person and a better team leader. Except for that last mission, I always felt that I kinda had my own guardian angel though. There were times where I _should've_ died, but somehow managed to make it through."

"Well, _I'm_ glad you're not dead."

Ashley smiled. "So am I. You know… You, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex… I had my doubts about you all when we first started but Skipper proved me all wrong. I'm glad.

Wasn't so glad that it was one of Wrex's little 'tips' handed me my ass and landed me here, but at least we won that war and I've got a Medal of Honor to prove that we wiped a big slavery ring off the map."

"And the promotion! Don't forget about the promotion, _Operations Chief_!"

The human laughed. "Yeah, that's gonna take some getting used to."

"I'm surprised you still keep in contact with them, Ash."

"I don't. Not face to face anyways. Garrus, Wrex, and Liara have been banding together to keep me busy and push more work my way. Dropping little hints and evidence here and there through their contacts. They think I don't know but I do, oh I do.

Though Liara's role in this was a lot more subtle. I probably wouldn't have known it at all if Admiral Hackett hadn't mentioned it."

Tali laced her fingers together and stretched it forward before cracking a knuckle. "Just say the word and I can get you to Lieutenant Commander in no time."

Ashely rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face. "Leave my rank alone, Tali. I'm not in too much of a rush to get there. I'd rather earn it the old fashion way."

Tali frowned. "You need to. You know the Reapers are coming."

"Rank won't be enough to get people to listen to me. First of all, despite my promotion, I'm still a Williams, that will always carry a certain stigma in the Alliance no matter how many medals they pin on me. Besides, Shepard was a Spectre and if _no one_ listened to _her_, what hopes would I have?"

"If you make it high enough, you can get on the Committee to back Hackett and Anderson?"

"You need to be able to play the politicians game in order to be on the Committee, Tali. I _don't_ have the patience for such things and I _don't_ like riding a desk. Kaidan would've been the better choice. I'd rather be in the thick of it and be done."

"What does it hurt to try? Regardless of whether or not she wanted to, Shepard became a Spectre and tried to save everyone from their own stupidity."

"That's Shepard and _her_ own brand of stupidity. But I see your point. I'll… think about it. Might as well, I'm stuck here for another couple of days anyways."

"Do you know where you're going next?"

"Not too sure. Probably one of the human colonies in the Terminus Systems. Someone finally managed to knock some sense into the Committee so they're dispatching a team to investigate why our colonies are disappearing."

"I can answer that." Tali quickly attached the video and hit send. "It's the Collectors."

Ashley blinked, a puzzled look on her face as she brought up the file on her end through her omni-tool. "What's a Collector? Is that some kind of alien?"

"Yes. I've heard that they're a species from somewhere beyond the Omega 4 Relay. We call them Collectors because that's what they do. They collect. Mostly oddities: people with strange genetic mutations or things like that. Most of the time they've worked through a middle man of sorts like slavers, trading them advanced technology in return for such oddities."

Ashley's eyes widened in shock for a few seconds before narrowing at the scene she was watching. "Oh God! This is… shit. How'd you get this, Tali?"

"One of my people was on pilgrimage in one of colonies and managed to get this."

"Damn, I recognize that gun some of these guys are holding. I was getting shot at with some kind of weird particle beam rifle in the last mission that was melting everything. So _that's_ where _that bastard_ got his technology. Shit. _How the hell_ are we suppose to fight these guys?!"

"Don't worry. Shepard's taking care of that."

Ashley jerked her head away from the omni-tool to stare back at her with disbelief. "Shepard - "

"_**Is Alive**_, Ash. I saw her on Freedom's Progress and it _is_ her as herself. Not a clone or a look-a-like or a pretender. At least I don't think. That scar on her face is gone and there's some sort of incision scars in its place that glowed red. And she remembered me. But it looks like she's with Cerberus now."

"There's no way. The Shepard I know _wouldn't_ willingly work with _terrorists_!"

"I don't think its willing on her end. She _seemed_ annoyed when Prazza - one of my men - asked why she was working with Cerberus."

"Wait, if she's alive where the _hell_ has she been _for the last two years_?!"

"She said they spent the last two years rebuilding her."

"Rebuilt? By Cerberus? That's… I don't know what's worse, knowing that Shepard's being working for the crazy terrorist group this entire time or that she's become one of Cerberus's sick experiments. "

"I don't think they did anything to her, Ash. Shepard had two Cerberus goons with her that wanted to steal one of my people away. She managed to command them to do otherwise."

"Maybe. Or maybe they twisted her into some sort of sleeper agent. She could have a control chip stuck in her or something. Who knows with this group.

I've worked a lot of cases that was caused by them, Tali. The files we were able to grab off Admiral Kohoku's things? What we saw them do two years ago is just the tip of the iceberg. The experiments that they've done since then are disgusting.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that they're responsible for the colonists going missing! Hell, they may even _be_ the reason those Collector things are here!"

Tali shrugged helplessly. "All I know is that the Collectors need to be stopped and that Cerberus is the only group trying to do something about it."

Tali jumped when Ashley struck her fist against the table hard enough to shake the camera. The frustration on the human's face spoke volumes. "And that's what kills me! Our colonists are going missing and the Alliance, the Council, none of them wants to even attempt to FIX this just because only the ones in the Terminus Systems are disappearing!"

"Well… maybe they are but trying to be secretive about it? From what I hear, most of your colonists originally left to get away from the Alliance."

Ashely sighed. "I hope you're right."

"Of course I am, you're the pessimist after all. You're suppose to be proven wrong."

The two of them shared a good laugh over that.

"So, getting away from evil terrorist groups. How's your family, Ash?"

"They're doing great! I didn't tell you in my last letter, but Sarah's getting married!"

Though Tali wouldn't remember until later that she'd forgotten to tell the former Gunnery Chief that she'd finally gotten her adult name, the two friends/pseudo-siblings were able to continue their chat, easily catching each other up on their lives until someone knocked on the private calls room. Tali stood and answered the door.

"I apologize, Tali. We'll be coming up to Haestrom in 30 minutes and communications will get cut off due to Dholen's magnetic eruptions."

"Okay, thanks for the warning, Dorn." The quarian male - Dorn'Hazt - nodded and walked alway, allowing Tali to shut the door again. Turning back to her terminal, Tali said, "Hey listen, I've got to go. I've got one more call to make before my team lands."

"I understand. Thanks for the call. Wish you were able to bail me out of here."

Tali laughed. "Wish I could too and then I could have that chocolate! Be careful out there, Operations Chief Williams."

"You too, Tali."

* * *

_A/N: And now you know why Ashley's rank jumped so fast. Tali managed to convince her to work harder to earn the rest of her rank while not telling her that she'd hacked it. Haha._

_Sorry I took so long. I had it finished and then when I read it over, it seemed like I ended it too abruptly. It should read a tiny bit better now. _

_Kaidan's chapter will take a lot of additional tinkering even though I'll probably follow the same style as Bioware and just reuse the most of the lines. So you're welcomed to read both but if you prefer Ashely, read this Chapter. If you prefer Kaidan, you'll have to wait for Chapter 3B to be completed._

_My own __headcanon_ for this duplication is that I like to think that the VS tends to try to take on a bit of the the non-VS's actions. For example, Ashley would always think "What would Kaidan do in this case?" and try to strive for that.

_Sneak Preview of what's next:_

_Chapter 3B - Kaidan_

_Chapter 4 - Engineer Adams_


	4. Kaidan

**DISCLAIMER****: **_All of the characters in this fic are not mine. They are the property of BIOWARE. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed! :-)_

** Author's Note: **_Female Shepard will be talked about in this fic. Also, I will be attempting to avoid mentioning who this Shepard is in a romance with. We all know that both Kaidan and Liara had a crush on Shepard so I'd probably add a few lines on that, but any implications of who Shepard *is* with will not be mentioned. If this offends you press the back button now!_

i

**Kaidan**

By SpaceRanger

i

"Hello?"

"Hey- Wow you look horrible, Kaidan." And really he did. Almost as bad as Shepard looked after the Battle of the Citadel. They had all thought she had gotten away with only a broken arm when the piece of Sovereign fell on her, but their Commander had hidden her injuries too well. As soon as they all got back to the Normandy she collapsed, scaring them all again.

Kaidan just laughed, his eyes twinkling with mirth and pain from his injuries. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Tali."

"Sorry! But you do! Did you just come back from a mission?"

"Yeah, yesterday I think, or maybe it was the day before?" Kaidan carefully shook his head. "It's hard to tell when you're confined to the hospital."

"Oh don't give me that. You know you like being fawned over. You dated that doctor after all."

Kaidan looked away. "Yeah I guess…"

"Oh don't tell me, you broke up?"

"We weren't in a relationship in the first place, Tali."

Tali let slip a noise of disbelief that lead to a sigh from the human.

"Honestly Tali, we weren't. I needed someone or something to help me learn to move on and she had some experience with losing people she loved."

"That's what councilors are for, Kaidan."

Kaidan looked uncomfortable at the mention of councilor. "I know it's stupid, but I'm just not keen on talking to one. They're all so… clinical. I mean, I'm sure they're good at what they do, but I'd rather talk to someone who has been through even some of what I have."

"Even if they're complete strangers?"

"Even if they're complete strangers."

"And can easily go to people like that _bosh'tet_ reporter Khalisah?"

"Come on, give the doctor the benefit of doubt. Besides, your own background check found her okay if your teasing about me being fussed over is any indication."

Amused, Tali said. "I never said anything about your doctor date being like that. I was talking hypothetically."

Kaidan coughed once and looked away, Tali could read embarrassment in his body language. "She's not my date. Anyways, I doubt you called just to make fun of my face or to fuss at me for not trusting professional psychologists. So what's up?"

"Oh, yes!" Tali clapped her hands together, bring the human's attention back to her. "Congratulations on your promotion to Lieutenant Commander!"

Kaidan smiled. "Thanks. A certain proud Chief Engineer by the name of Adams tells me that congratulations are in order for you as well, Tali'Zora _vas Neema_."

Tali beamed. "Thanks!"

Kaidan suddenly furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Wait a minute, Tali. Not many people know that I got promoted. Did you cause this?"

Tali held up her hands attempting to fend herself from the accusation. "I didn't hack into the Alliance database to put that rank in if that's what you mean. You earned that yourself. Though I did pester Shepard a bit to just automatically give everyone on board the Normandy an upgraded rank right after defeating Sovereign… She said no."

Tali crossed her arms and pouted in remembrance.

Kaidan kept his suspicious gaze on her a moment longer before finally letting it go and shaking his head again with a smile. "Alright, sorry for the accusation. It's hard not to when I've got friends like you, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex ganging up on me… "

The quarian uncrossed her arms and leaned forward in her eagerness to learn the story. "What did they do?"

"They keep sending work my way, breaking up criminal activities and things like that. I'm in this hospital because one of Wrex's little 'tips' handed me my ass and landed me here, but at least we won that war and I've got a Medal of Honor to prove that we wiped a big slavery ring off the map."

"Hey that's a big accomplishment all on its own! You're working crippled though your migraines from the L2. That's sort of like fighting with both your hands tied behind your back isn't it? So you've shamed that slavery ring!"

The human chuckled. "There is that. Though most people would consider it more like fighting with only one hand tied behind your back or after being shot in the leg."

"I'm surprised you still keep in contact with them, Kaidan."

"I don't. Not face to face anyways. Garrus, Wrex, and Liara have been banding together to drop little hints and evidence here and there through _their_ contacts. They think I don't know." Kaidan gave her a wink.

Tali grinned and pulled her fingers across her mask in a gesture she'd seen the humans do several times. "I won't say a word."

Kaidan grinned back. "Thanks. I was actually more surprised about Liara. Admiral Hackett told me she's become an information broker. Did you know this?"

Tali nodded. "Yes, well no. Not exactly. Actually, I didn't find out until an hour ago. It surprised me."

"Yeah, me too. I thought she would've gone back to her dig site."

"So did I."

"Funny enough, according to Hackett, a lot of the work I've done were actually tips from her."

"Really? Wow. Sounds like it's not long now before you make it up high enough to kick some sense into people so they'd start preparing for the Reapers."

"I guess, but I don't think rank or medals would be enough to get people to listen to me. Anderson's list of accomplishments couldn't and Shepard was a Spectre and if _no one_ listened to _them_, what hopes would I have?"

"If you make it high enough, you can get on the Committee to back Hackett and Anderson?"

"You need to be able to play the politicians game in order to be on the Committee, Tali. Otherwise you're always out voted. Anderson can't really be on the Committee so it would end up being just Hackett and me. Two voices out of five is still the minority and even then they'd say that my time spent with Shepard clouded my judgement."

"What does it hurt to try? Regardless of whether or not she wanted to, Shepard became a Spectre and tried to save everyone from their own stupidity."

"That's Shepard, not me. But I see your point. I'll… think about it. Might as well, I'm stuck here for another couple of days anyways."

"Do you know where you're going next?"

"Not too sure. If I had to guess, probably one of the human colonies in the Terminus Systems. The Committee's thinking about dispatching a team to investigate why our colonies are disappearing."

"I can answer that." Tali quickly attached the video and hit send. "It's the Collectors."

Kaidan blinked, a puzzled look on his face as he brought up the file on his end through his omni-tool. "What's a Collector? Is that some kind of alien?"

"Yes. I've heard that they're a species from somewhere beyond the Omega 4 Relay. We call them Collectors because that's what they do. They collect. Mostly oddities: people with strange genetic mutations or things like that. Most of the time they've worked through a middle man of sorts like slavers, trading them advanced technology in return for such oddities."

"God! This is… shit. How'd you get this, Tali?"

"One of my people was on pilgrimage in one of colonies and managed to get this."

"Damn, I recognize that gun some of these guys are holding. I was getting shot at with some kind of weird particle rifle in the last mission that was melting everything. So _that's_ where _that bastard_ got his technology. Shit. _How the hell_ are we suppose to fight these guys?!"

"Don't worry. Shepard's taking care of that."

Kaidan jerked his head away from the omni-tool to stare back at her with disbelief and hope. Just like there are separate bathrooms for dual gender species, there were two separate titles for the two with the biggest crush on their Commander: Liara holds the title for the women's side (despite being mono-gendered) and Kaidan holds the title on the men's side. "Shepard - "

"_**Is Alive**_, Kaidan. I saw her on Freedom's Progress and it _is_ her as herself. Not a clone or a look a like or a pretender. At least I don't think."

"How is she? Is she… ?"

"I wasn't with her long enough to be told everything or make any guesses. It does seem like she's okay. And she remembered me so her memory seems to be okay too. The only changes that I did see was that the scar on her face is gone and there's some sort of incision scars in its place that glowed red. Oh! And she seems to have gotten a lot stronger. I don't remember her being able to tear the head off a Mech with just her hands before."

"Wait, if she's alive, where has she been the last two years?!"

"With Cerberus." Tali hastened to add, "Turns out Cerberus rebuilt her and she's working with them to investigate and take care of the Collector problem."

"That's not possible. The Shepard we know _wouldn't_ willingly work with _terrorists_!"

"I don't think its willing on her end. She _seemed_ annoyed when Prazza - one of my men - asked why she was working with Cerberus."

Kaidan carefully shook his head. "Maybe. Or maybe they twisted her into some sort of sleeper agent. She could have a control chip stuck in her or something. Who knows with this group.

I've worked a lot of cases that was caused by them, Tali. The files we were able to grab off Admiral Kohoku's things? What we saw them do two years ago is just the tip of the iceberg. The experiments that they've done since then are disgusting.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that they're responsible for the colonists going missing! Hell, they may even _be_ the reason those Collector things are here!"

Tali shrugged helplessly. "All I know is that the Collectors need to be stopped and that Cerberus is the only group trying to do something about it."

Kaidan clinched his fists. "They aren't! There may not be any news about it, but I believe in the Alliance and the Council. They're doing something about it too, they're just being secretive about it."

"And it's driving you crazy because you haven't heard anything so you're doubting."

"Yeah. I don't trust this rogue Cerberus group pretending to be some sort of vigilante. So I trust the Alliance and the Council, I have to. I tell myself that there's no news because the colonies on the Terminus Systems will throw a fit if the Alliance waltz in. They originally left to get away from us, but you probably already knew that."

"Yup. Well, at least you're being optimistic."

Kaidan laughed humorlessly. "That's all I can be."

"So, getting away from evil terrorist groups. How's your family, Kaidan?"

"They're doing okay. Probably glad that I'm out of their hair though."

"Really? What have you been up to instead of being at your parents' place?"

"Believe it or not…" Kaidan let out a slight laugh, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "Teaching."

"Wow… I just hope you're not teaching Tech."

"What? What's wrong with me teaching Tech?"

In a teasing tone of voice, Tali said. "Where do I even begin?"

The two friends continued their chat, spending most of it teasing each other while catching each other up on their lives until someone knocked on the private calls room. Tali stood and answered the door.

"We'll be coming up to Haestrom in 30 minutes and communications will get cut off due to Dholen's magnetic eruptions."

"Okay, thanks for the warning, Dorn." The quarian male - Dorn'Hazt - nodded and walked alway, allowing Tali to shut the door again. Turning back to her terminal, Tali said, "Hey listen, I've got to go. I've got one more call to make before my team lands."

Kaidan smiled and nodded once. "Say no more, I understand. Be careful out there, Tali."

"You too, Kaidan."

* * *

A/N: _As you probably could tell, I had a really difficult time getting Kaidan's personality together and it probably messed a bit with Tali's personality as well. I did ended up having more new scenes/conversations then I thought I would though so that made me a bit happier. _

_And so 'The End is Nigh'_

_Final Chapter:_

_Chapter 4 - Engineer Adams_


	5. Adams

**DISCLAIMER****: **_All of the characters in this fic are not mine. They are the property of BIOWARE. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed! :-)_

** Author's Note: **_Female Shepard will be talked about in this fic. Also, I will be attempting to avoid mentioning who this Shepard is in a romance with. We all know that both Kaidan and Liara had a crush on Shepard so I'd probably add a few lines on that, but any implications of who Shepard *is* with will not be mentioned. If this offends you press the back button now!_

i

** Engineer Adams **

By SpaceRanger

i

On board the _SSV Kilimanjaro_, a knock on his "office" made Chief Engineer Greg Adams look up from the datapad in his hand. Beta Shift Engineer Shimoda waved at him from the doorless entryway. Adams made to stand but Shimoda waved it away.

"Take your time, Adams. Just letting you know I'm here. Anything I should know?"

"Haven't heard a peep from the others. My own check before I sat down about an hour ago showed the board was green. Though we may need to discharge the core during the Gamma Shift. I'll leave a message with Lieutenant Singh but you may want to mention that to him when his duty shift begins."

"Good to know. I'll leave you to it then. Let me know if you need me for anything else."

"Will do."

With that, Shimoda walked off, heading in the direction of the main engineering deck while Adams went back to completing his inventory.

Before he could get too far though, his omni-tool lit up, revealing the face of Alpha Shift Communication Officer Trillya who immediately spoke without waiting for his greetings, her fidgeting displaying an eagerness for her own shift to be over.

"Engineer Adams, you've got a personal call. I've routed it to your terminal."

Adams looked to the side to see the words "Incoming Call" flashing on his computer. Turning back to the woman on his omni-tool, he nodded. "Got it, thanks."

Trillya returned the nod and stood just before she disconnected, obviously leaving her duty station. With one hand, Adams pulled open one of his drawers and withdrew a single glove while the other activated the holographic keyboard.

After slipping on the glove, he toggled a switch on the back of the glove then punched in his access codes on the keyboard. The computer activated the audio portion first.

"Adams spe - " The image that finally came up cut him off due to his surprise of seeing a quarian on the other side. "Tali?" He knew instinctively that this was Tali, however, it's never good to make assumptions, especially when you can't see the other being's face.

"Engineer Adams!" Tali's cheerful and familiar high-pass filtered greeting validated his instincts and he smiled. This was good change from when he saw her last.

"Hello, Tali." Adams was used to being a bit of a nomad when it comes to ships, having served on every class belonging to the Alliance. This combined with their love for ships and engineering gave him a soft spot for the teen, stirring a bit of paternal feeling.

He'd passed on his contact information to the girl and they've kept in contact thrice before. Once when she let him know she'd returned to the Migrant Fleet safely, second when she was granted her adult name, and the third when she needed a sounding board for an idea how how to fix one of the damaged environmental drives on one of the derelict ships the quarians had found and was attempting to salvage (and complain a bit about how people were still treating her like a kid despite her new status).

Personally, he'd like to think the last one was just an excuse to call him. During one of their downtimes on the Normandy involving some good ol' "homebrew" Shepard was _good_ at making, Adams had told Pressly that he was so amazed and proud of all she'd done. He'd also confined to the navigator that the speed that Tali was learning was so great that soon all he would need to do was to give her a chunk of scrap metal, a circuit board, and some element zero, and she'd have it making precision jumps. He wouldn't be surprised though if she'd already known how to do such a thing before even joining the _Normandy_.

"Adult life getting any better?" Adams didn't bother to stifle his knowing grin at the groan that erupted from her. He knew she'd be able to read his body language so there really was no point.

"More like worse. I think I liked it better as a kid. All I had to do was follow orders or rebel when I think the orders are stupid. Now I have to give them with the hope that the team I lead will follow my orders! I don't know how you and Shepard managed it, but I know one thing for sure: I don't think I'm cut out to lead at all."

Adam's grin faded away as he gentled his voice. "You'll get the hang of it. I've had several years to learn, and I'm still learning. As for Shepard, not too sure, but I'm guessing she'd say the same as I."

"Maybe…" The uncertainty and disappointment conveyed by that one word in Tali's voice made him wish he could be there.

"Don't sell yourself short, Little Lady. Give it some time. Most of the decisions I make comes from an accumulation of all the different experiences and encounters throughout my career. That's not to say that I'm always successful. I've had my share of failures as well and some of that experience taught me that sometimes, it's okay to not be able to lead. Sometimes, it's quite okay to just be a follower. Find someone with a vision and a passion that you can identify with, and support them like you did when we were chasing Saren. Remember Tali, just because you are Rael'Zoreh's daughter does _not_ mean you _are_ Rael'Zoreh. Rael is Rael. You are you: A smart young lady with talents, gifts, and skills that are, simply put, quite amazing. You don't need to be a leader to show it."

"Adams…" The quiver in her voice is unmistakable. "Thank you. Being back with the Flotilla… I know I talked about it a lot but somehow, time away made me forget just how heavy the expectations can be. And it just… seems to get worse. All I could think about was all things I'm being judged on. Am I doing this right? Was that the best course of action?"

"I know. I could tell that you'd forgotten about yourself, and need a reminder." Eager to end that particular topic on a good note he asked, "But I'm guessing that's not why you called?"

"Oh yes! You won't believe this! _Keelah!_ I still can't believe it myself! _**Shepard. Is. Alive!**_" Adam's eyes widened.

"How did you find out?"

"How did I? Wait, Adams… you _knew_?!" The shock and hurt in Tali's voice made him feel guilty, but he stood firm behind his decision.

"Karen - Doctor Chakwas contacted me a while ago. She told me that she was taking a leave of absence to help with the investigation of the missing colonists and that Joker was with her along with a couple of Alliance engineers from the _SSV Perugia_. She asked if I could help. She also told me that the ones to fund the mission was Cerberus and that they'd managed to bring Shepard back.

And it wasn't just you. I didn't tell anyone what Doctor Chakwas told me."

"But… why? I thought you would be happy to know that Shepard's alive!"

Adams shook his head. "Normally I would. But I _saw_ what happened to the Commander when the Normandy went down and it was one of the more grim sights I'd ever seen. I also don't believe that whoever this is, is really _our_ Commander Shepard.

Keep in mind, _Cerberus_ was the one to bring her back. I don't trust Cerberus, not after what they've done. Like the rest of the ground team, you personally saw their dirty work: Admiral Kohoku, the Rachni, and the Thorian Creepers. And that's likely just a sample. Who knows what else they've done, _could have done_, and would do to the Commander.

And it's been two years, there's no point in bring up the past especially since we've all moved on. _If_ Shepard did really come back to life, untainted, and asked you to leave with her to find the colonist right this minute, _you_ would tell her no. You've got commitments now and your duty to your Flotilla just as I have my duty to the Alliance."

"What happens if you're wrong? And this is the real Shepard."

"Then, I'm wrong. I'll apologize and most likely regret it for the rest of my life. Probably spend the same amount of time making up for it, too."

"But you'd still do nothing."

Adams nodded. "I don't like taking too many chances, Tali. I'd rather play it safe."

Tali started gesturing widely with her hands, displaying her agitation. "But you'd be leaving the real Shepard to Cerberus! You said it yourself! Who knows what else they would do to her! She and Joker and Doctor Chakwas and those engineers! You're leaving them to be backstabbed by Cerberus just…"

Tali's talking speed started to slow down and grow softer as if she'd just came to a realization about something. "…just to save yourself. Even after all she's done for us."

Instead of responding or defending himself, he waited for her to complete her train of thought. Finally she shook her head. "Thanks for the talk, Engineer Adams. It may take some time, but I think I know what to do now. Take care."

She quickly flicked off her transmission, leaving him to stare at the blank screen for a while in surprise. He shook his head and stood, only for his elbow to strike at a familiar paperweight Shepard had designed for him while bored. It was a black box surrounded by faux fire that mimicked an old thought experiment: Schrödinger's cat. When touched, it randomly generates a number that would determine whether or not there was a holographic cat inside. Before the first Normandy exploded, he'd noticed a coincidence where the cat only appeared whenever Shepard was on board the Normandy. That seemed to continue to hold true as ever since she'd died, no one's been able to trigger the cat to appear.

Until now.

And maybe it's just him… but is that cat being burned?

A beep on his terminal, indicating a new email message, drew his attention away from the cat. A quick look showed that the message was from Tali, and it included nothing more than a single attachment: a video of Collectors stealing away humans.

* * *

_A/N: So originally this was suppose to be Chapter 2. But the conversation between Tali and Adams took flight into something I wasn't expecting when I started it. It sounded better as a "final" chapter and gave a slightly better reason for Tali to agree to join Shepard later._

_So this is it. Thanks for sticking with this. But most of all, thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews. _


End file.
